Money matters - gifts and contributions - Brief Article

Information Outlook, May, 2001

SLA been very fortunate in the last several years to receive some very special contributions to its various funds. These gifts have been special, not only because of their size, but also because of the types of programs that they will enable and support. I would like to take the opportunity to tell you about the projects and the donations.

The SLA Endowment Fund was established to provide support for programs developed by SLA's Chapters, Divisions, and Committees that further the scientific, literary, and educational purpose of the Association. During 1999, a very generous contribution was made to this fund by the estate of the late Isabelle Weeks. Thanks to Ms. Weeks generous bequest, the funds corpus was increased by over $390,000. This gift will dramatically increase the earnings on this fund and, therefore, the grants that can be made to further the purposes of the Association.

In 2000, SLA received notice of an other large bequest from the estate of Ruth Fine. It was anticipated that the bequest would total somewhere between $125,000 and $130,000. In early 2001, the Association received a check from the estate for $132,000. Much to SLA's surprise, accompanying that check was a letter indicating that the check represented only 50% of the total bequest and the remainder would be paid out later in 2001. All $264,000 is to be added to the Scholarship Fund, as per Ms. Fine's request. The Scholarship Fund grants scholarships for graduate study in librarianship leading to a master's degree at a recognized school of library or information science. Thanks to Ms. Fine's gracious bequest, the scholarship fund will be on strong financial footing and will be able to offer additional scholarships in years to come.

This year, SLA will be establishing another special purpose fund. The David R. Bender Endowment Fund for International Development. The fund will not only honor David Bender on the occasion of his retirement as Executive Director of SLA, it will also create an endowment fund that will grow over the years and support our expanding international agenda, including fellowships, conferences, and membership benefits such as foreign language pages on the web site. Following is the motion approved by the SLA Board of Directors in January:

In consideration of the dedication with which David R. Bender has led the Special Libraries Association to reach out to an international membership, and the effort he has put into making SLA better known in the international community of librarians, we would like to propose the creation of the David R. Bender Fund for International Development. Through this endowment we hope to support activities and fellowships that will expand the reach of SLA as the Knowledge Age begins to encompass all the regions of the globe, and transforms the context in which all major institutions operate. We think it is fitting that David R. Bender's name should be on a cutting edge fund through which his legacy can live on.

I am pleased to tell you that we already have received two lead gifts for this fund, $25,000 from Factiva, and $5,000 from Vivian Hewitt, past president, Hall of Fame winner, and lifetime member of SLA. Fund raising for the new endowment will be taking place in the near future and information on how to contribute to the fund will be provided at that time.

Thanks to the generosity of members and friends of the Association, SLA has been able to establish and grow these special funds. These funds, benefit the entire membership by providing a means for funding initiatives which both promote and improve the profession today and into the future.